Skepticism toward Government

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Overview

In this lesson students will investigate why Americans are skeptical of their government. Students will analyze archives of newspapers and discover how certain events changed Americans’ attitudes toward the government.

 

Grade Levels

9–12

 

Objectives

Students will:

• explain how the media portrayed the government during Watergate;
• explain how the media portrayed the government during the Vietnam War;
• explain how the media portrayed the government prior to President Clinton’s impeachment; and
• describe how Watergate, the Vietnam War, and President Clinton’s impeachment changed Americans’ attitudes toward the government

Estimated Time

1 day

 

Materials Needed

• E-Learning Module: Understanding Representative Democracy
• Internet connection with Macromedia FLASH ® enabled
• Chalk and chalkboard or a marker and a whiteboard or an overhead transparency and an overhead projector
• Newspaper and magazine archives
• Pencil and paper

Procedure

1. Write the following on a chalkboard, whiteboard, or overhead transparency:
   1. List at least three reasons why Americans are skeptical toward their government.
   2. Identify two ways to counter cynicism.
2. Use a projection device to show students the “Skepticism toward Government” video clip in the Understanding Representative Democracy E-Learning Module. Encourage students to take notes during the video clip and answer the questions on the chalkboard, whiteboard, or overhead projector.
3. As a class, discuss the answers to the two questions.
4. Ask students to conduct a search on the Internet or visit the library and read archived newspaper articles written during Watergate, the Vietnam War, and the period just before President Clinton’s impeachment. Have students examine how the media portrayed the government during these times. Students should research what political analysts had to say about these events and find out how these events changed Americans’ attitudes toward the government.
5. Tell students to write a paper in which they discuss how the media promoted skepticism during Watergate, Vietnam, and the period right before Clinton’s impeachment; explain how these events changed Americans’ attitudes toward the government; and offer suggestions to counter skepticism. Ask them to take into account the influence of the media on the general public overall, since “news” is usually a report of what is going wrong, and rarely a report of what is going right.

Extension Activity

Ask students to research an historical event or inspirational president that caused Americans to act more favorably toward their government.

 

Assessment

Basic Concepts and Processes

Ask your students to respond to the following requests for information and assess their knowledge of key concepts taught in this lesson.

1. Explain how the media portrayed the government during Watergate.
2. Explain how the media portrayed the government during the Vietnam War.
3. Explain how the media portrayed the government prior to President Clinton’s impeachment.
4. Describe how Watergate, the Vietnam War, and President Clinton’s impeachment changed Americans’ attitudes toward the government.

Scoring Guide for Paper about Skepticism and the Media

Elements	Possible Score	Assigned Score	Notes
Correct spelling	5
Correct Grammar (sentence structure, punctuation, )	5
Good beginning, middle, and end	5
Explains how the media portrayed the government during Watergate	10
Explains how the media portrayed the government during the Vietnam War	10
Explains how the media portrayed the government prior to President Clinton’s impeachment	10
Explains what political analysts said about these events	20
Describes how these events changed Americans’ attitudes toward the government	20
Offers suggestions to counter skepticism	15

Lesson Plan Feedback

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